Why Do We Fight?
by So many taken usernames
Summary: Some stories do not end happily. Some heroes fall as quickly as they rose. Some kindness can be found in unexpected places. And even the smallest friendship means something. Lucille Braun, a young but incredibly powerful mercenary, lead a short but meaningful life, a life that has faded from the memories of most...but not all.
1. Even The Smallest Things Have Meaning

**THIS IS JUST A LITTLE NON-CANON SCENARIO THAT I THOUGHT MIGHT BE NICE. **

**WARNING: I MADE MY OWN BACKSTORIES FOR ADAM, WEISS, AND BLAKE TO SUIT THE PLOT OF THIS STORY.**

* * *

Lucille Braun was the last mercenary. Her family had worked as mercenaries for a long time, and she was the last to do so. Her time as a mercenary ended at age 15, when her last job went wrong and she was slain. She fought with the Dual Functioning Gun Blades, or the DFGB for short. She worked for the Schnee Dust Company as a personal mercenary after stopping a shipment of Schnee Company Dust from being destroyed. She was well-known and well-respected. She had, at age 14, left her school, Signal. She always had power beyond her years. She fought like a seasoned warrior, and had the power of one. She started her mercenary career earlier than expected. However, she made a good reputation, in the span of a year no less, which was a rather small amount of time for someone to do so much. However, after her death, she faded into obscurity. Other affairs plagued the land, and the Schnee Dust Company had more important things to do than remember their fallen mercenary, and her family died soon after she did. However, her memory was kept alive on a plaque. It was a plaque commissioned by none other than Weiss Schnee, who had befriended Lucille before her death. It commemorated all of her victories, and had a personal lament from each of her surviving family members. However, she also lived on through the memory of one who aided in her death, Blake Belladonna. She had watched Lucille die by the hands of the man she was hired to kill. That man was named Adam.

* * *

Lucille walked calmly towards the conference room of the Schnee mansion. She shrugged her arms, feeling the red and black metal plates that were connected to them. The weapons comforted her, and she needed comfort. Despite her calm and fearless demeanor, she was never fully at ease around the manipulative Mr. and Mrs. Schnee. She pushed open the large door, decorated with the Schnee family symbol, and walked to the long table that lay ahead. She sat and found a large case of Lien in front of her. The Schnees got right down to business.

"This job is not your usual escort mission. We are hiring you for an assassination," Mr. Schnee said plainly.

"Who do you want dead?" Lucille asked.

"The vigilante known as Adam," Mrs. Schnee answered, matching her husband's plain tone. Lucille hid her nervousness. Adam was known by many and feared by even more.

"Shall I bring you his head as proof?"

"That is the standard deal."

"How much is in the case?"

"Exactly what we offered. Nothing more, nothing less." Lucille stood and bowed, holding the case.

"Thank you for your employment," she said stiffly but politely. She then walked away.

* * *

As Lucille exited the mansion, she heard a grunting noise coming from the frozen courtyard. She kept walking, but the grunting grew louder, and an explosion suddenly echoed across the yard. Lucille heard, and took it upon herself to investigate. She didn't know why. It was most likely their daughter, Weiss Schnee, training. But Lucille had always admired Weiss ever since she saw her baby picture in a stray magazine. She knew meeting one's heroes would always end in disappointment, but it was better than not knowing the truth.

"Hello," Lucille said calmly. Weiss turned, panting heavily. Behind her, flames flickered, melting the ice. The two girls walked towards each other, and Weiss waved her rapier as the barrel spun to light blue. A blizzard of ice engulfed the fire and turned it into a statue of embers in the center of the courtyard.

"Who are you?" Weiss asked.

"Lucille Braun. I'm the Schnee family mercenary." Weiss looked surprised.

"Really? You look the same age as me."

"I'm 15, but I fight like I'm older."

"I see," Weiss said calmly. Then, there was silence. Lucille examined Weiss' lovely skirt and elegant boots. Her symmetrical appearance was offset by her lopsided ponytail. Then, her gaze fell to the deadly rapier in the heiress' hands.

"What's your rapier called?" She asked.

"Myrtenaster," was the answer.

"My weapons are known as Apollo and Artemis. No use telling which is which, they both look and function exactly the same," Lucille replied.

"Why are you here? I know you didn't come to meet me to discuss weaponry," Weiss said, getting to the point.

"I didn't. I simply wanted to meet a childhood hero." This comment surprised her even more than Lucille's inquiry about her rapier.

"Hero? I haven't done anything to warrant such a title."

"Anyone can be a hero to a child. I saw you in magazines and read about you in stories. I don't know why I clung to you so much. I had no idea what you'd be like. I think I was simply impressed with your status…but I remember, every start of a new school year, I imagined you'd be there. I imagined seeing you by yourself, and I'd go over and talk to you. I imagined making you smile, I imagined us becoming friends. Then I imagined myself bragging about you to everyone I knew. I made sure to dress my best. I acted my politest. I checked every class. I was so excited to meet you, but was never disappointed when I did. I assumed it would simply happen the next year. It never did. Eventually, I forgot about my childish obsessions and moved on. But knowing I could meet you…I suppose I wanted to appease the child within me." Lucille's lengthy speech made Weiss actually stagger with surprise. Not only was it a strange story, but she also found it odd that Lucille would tell someone she hardly knew such an embarrassing story, much less the one who the story revolved around.

* * *

"T-That's…flattering."

"I'm sure." Weiss frowned before asking a question she was sure would surprise the young mercenary.

"Am I what you expected?" Lucille didn't look surprised. If she was, she hid it well. Weiss hid her surprise just as skillfully. She was sure the question would catch the mercenary off-guard.

"Not quite. So far, I'm rather disappointed. You're not what I thought you'd be at all. But I'll hold off the final judgment until I ask one last question. I came here thinking I'd be let down. I assume meeting one's heroes is a disappointing experience, and so far, that's not been proven false. But it can be, if you answer my question the way I would like: Are you controlled by your family?" Weiss couldn't hide her surprise. She stared angrily at the girl, gripping Myrtenaster as if she was ready to attack. To think that this mere mercenary had the gall to come in her house and insult her in such a manner was ridiculous, but Lucille was a ridiculous person, as Weiss had realized. After a few awkward seconds, she answered the question.

"To think you'd insult me in such a way in my own home! It's unthinkable! But what's even more unthinkable is assuming I've let my parents control me. I'm my own person, and I'll follow my own path, whether they like it or not. My life is my own. I am Weiss. I am not Mrs. Schnee. I am not the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. I am Weiss, and I will live as I see fit. You're quite right not to judge until you know all of the facts." Lucille grinned broadly.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"Proving me wrong. I thought meeting my hero would be disappointing, as you know. It was anything but." Weiss wasn't sure how to react. In the span of a few minutes, she was respected, then insulted, then respected again.

"Ah…I'm not…quite sure what to say."

"'I'm glad' would be a start."

"I am…but it's odd, going back and forth from being complimented to insulted."

"I'm odd. And so are you, Weiss."

"Huh?"

"You train so diligently, yet you have no intention of living as your parents want you to."

"I'm going to enroll at Beacon when I turn 17. I need all the training I can get."

"Good luck with that," Lucille walked away.

"Wait." She turned back to Weiss.

"Yes?"

"What have my parents told you to do?"

"Kill Adam." Weiss paled, if she could get any paler. She knew about Adam, and she knew what he had done.

"You realize that's a suicide mission, right?" Weiss asked forcefully.

"No, I don't. Adam will die. I swear by my honor as a mercenary. I'm the last of my kind, and I'll honor that privilege."

"You make it sounds so easy, as if honor is all you need to win."

"I have to believe that it is. Faltering means death. If you lose your confidence for even a second, you give the enemy an opening. If you doubt yourself, you've already lost. Fighting isn't just about skill, Weiss. It's about belief."

"I'll keep that in mind. But if fighting's about belief, doesn't that mean that the warrior with the stronger cause would win?" Weiss asked. Lucille smiled.

"You're smart. Probably smarter than me. But I'm not just fighting for money. I'm fighting for you now." Weiss had learned to expect the unexpected from Lucille, so she hid her surprise well.

"Why?"

"Adam and the White Fang are targeting the Schnee Dust Company. They're after your parents…and you, the heiress. If I take Adam out, I deal a big blow to the White Fang. The more I damage them, the closer they come to defeat. I can make sure you get to live the life you want." Weiss frowned.

"Don't die for me. I don't want to be part of the reason you die, so live. And I'm not asking, Lucille." She said. She sounded composed but forceful, imposing but kind.

"I won't. I promise," Lucille replied. She waved and left Weiss on her own. Weiss looked at the fading figure of her new friend, and then went back to training. With a single thrust, she shattered the flame statue.


	2. Her Power

**TO CLARIFY LUCILLE'S WEAPON (NAMED APOLLO AND ARTEMIS): THE BLADE PART OF THE WEAPON IS SIMPLE, BUT THE GUN IS A BIT MORE COMPLEX. IT USES RED, WHITE, BLACK, AND YELLOW DUST (SEE WHAT I DID THERE?), ALTHOUGH NONE OF THE DUST HAS A SPECIFIC ELEMENTAL ATTRIBUTE. THE DUST BEING USED IS PURE ENERGY-TYPE DUST THAT IS REFINED THROUGH THE GEM ON HER WEAPON TO HAVE COLOR. THE WEAPON IS VOICE-ACTIVATED, HENCE HER SAYING WHAT COLOR SHE WANTS USED. JUST IN CASE PEOPLE GET CONFUSED.**

**PERSONALLY, I REALLY LIKE LUCILLE. **

* * *

Lucille had to wait a while, but eventually, the White Fang attacked. That was how she'd find Adam. She saw it on the news, and then left her house.

"Off to find Adam?" Her mother asked.

"Yes."

"Knock 'em dead. Literally," was the reply.

"I will." With that, Lucille walked out and started to hurry through the streets to the address the White Fang attacked. It was a park that commemorated the struggle of a brave soldier platoon against a White Fang attack. They clearly saw it as idolizing fools who would deny the fauna equal rights. Lucille agreed, but she had better things to worry about. She began to jump her way up a building by bouncing from said building to another until she reached the top. When she did, she began to run, leaping from roof to roof. She looked for signs of attack, and it didn't take her long to find a smoky column rise from the sky. She ran to it with incredible speed. When Lucille reached the park, she jumped. The White Fang was attacking from multiple airships. 3, to be exact. As she jumped, she saw Adam, and she then activated her weapons. The arm plates lifted to reveal a thin, square hole. A curved blade of white energy flew out of each hole. They curved around her neck, the tips almost touching. By the time she fell, they were fully out and ready to kill. She landed on the ground and hurried towards Adam, who boarded one of the ships.

"Kill her," he muttered to some guards. They ran towards her, and she jumped into action. She spun around and turned her arms with her. One of the blades cut through the soldiers in front, and the other killed the rest. She jumped in the air and slammed her feet onto a soldier's head, and she kicked off and spun through the air, cutting up soldiers as she flew. She landed and spun her arms as if she was throwing a cape around her, and more soldiers died. She saw a soldier fire at her in the distance, and she spun around, but went backwards this time. Lucille kept spinning and her blades blocked the bullets, knocking them out of the air. She sidestepped and swerved around, using her body to increase the force of her swings. When the soldier ran out of ammo, she sprung towards him and ripped him to shreds.

"Damn, the ship's getting away…" She muttered. Lucille jumped to the nearest airship, the only one she could reach. Using her blades, she cut through the metal and landed inside. She held her ground, but some of the soldiers flew out of the hole she left. The wind was making things difficult, but she pushed forward. The ship was large, almost mansion-size (though nowhere near as large as the Schnee mansion). She kicked through a door to another room, and found soldiers arming up.

"Who are you to stand in our way?!" A soldier asked arrogantly.

"I'm a mercenary. I bring condolences from Death," she said, lunging at the soldier. She ripped him apart, and more attacked. She dodged their clumsy sword swipes and sliced through one, ducking and spinning under another. She sliced the soldier and then kicked the face of a female soldier before turning to a man and slicing him. She slid under one soldier's legs and sliced them off with her blades. She then sprung off of the ground and kicked off of his body and landed on the woman, killing her. More soldiers ran at her, but she dodged and sliced in almost the same movements, killing like it was a dance. She then burst through the next room and braced herself for a lot more fighting.

* * *

Lucille had conquered the first ship, and made her way to the second, which was just as big as the first. She retracted the blades, and the square holes in the plates sealed up. From each of the plates, long, shotgun-like barrel emerged. From it, a small, cylindrical tube fell and from the tube, two handles fell. She grabbed the handles on both sides, and snarled:

"White." Two buttons appeared from the sides of the handles and she pressed both of them, putting her arms so that they faced behind her. Air rippled as a gem that appeared on top of each of the barrels shone white. The force propelled her through the ship and into the air. She pressed the buttons again, and air rippled, shooting her forward a second time. She landed on top of the second ship but had trouble staying on. She turned her guns to blades and stuck them in the ship. It held her in place, and she looked behind her. She saw Adam's ship begin to fly away.

"Back to the guns," she muttered. Seconds later, she was flying through the air. She continued to do so and caught up to Adam's ship. She then said,

"yellow," and the gem on top of each barrel shone yellow. She fired, and a massive, disorganized energy blast flew from each gun and slammed into the second ship, obliterating it before it could fire at her. She switched to her blades and cut through Adam's ship.

* * *

When Lucille defeated all of the soldiers on the ship, she ran to the main deck, one room before she would reach the pilot's area. There, she saw Adam.

"So you're the Schnee family mercenary," he said.

"I am."

"I guess you're here to kill me."

"I am."

"You make it sound easy," he snarled, and from his sheathe, a blood-red katana flew as if shot from a gun. Lucille dodged and the gun flew past her, but she didn't hear it collide with the metal walls around them.

"Thanks, Blake." Lucille whirled around and saw a girl no older than she, with black hair and a black sheathe. She held Adam's sword in her hand.

"What?!" Lucille exclaimed.

"Why do I have to get Wilt every time you fire it from Blush?"

"Because that's part of being my pupil."

"How, exactly, do you figure that?"

"It builds character," he said jokingly. She threw him the sword. He caught it and sheathed it smoothly.

"Who is this?" Lucille asked warily.

"She's my pupil. You know how the stories flatter me with bloody descriptions of how I tore soldiers apart?" Lucille nodded out of respect for his reputation.

"I couldn't have done it without her help. She's a secret the White Fang hides, the one who'll take over for me when I leave. She's Adam 2.0."

"You know I hate when you call me that."

"It's just a part of your training."

"Let me guess: it builds character."

"Bingo. Now, what say we end this fight here and now? We destroyed the park; we've got nothing more to do here." Blake nodded and unsheathed her sword. She held her sheath and the katana she drew from it and charged. Lucille spun around and deflected her first strike. Blake kept attacking, doing a few strikes with her katana and then switching to her sheath. Lucille spun and stepped backwards, swinging her arms to block the blows and occasionally stepping forward to deliver blows of her own. Adam, meanwhile, stood back and fired Blush, the sheath. It had now turned into a rifle, and he was using it with incredible skill. Even when Lucille tried to get Blake in the line of fire, Adam found her and shot at her with unnerving accuracy, forcing her to dodge and give Blake more openings, which she quickly took advantage of. They worked together with unmatched skill and forethought, as if they were telepathically connected and knew what the other would do.

"Switch!" Adam shouted. Blake stepped back and flipped into the air. Adam charged and Lucille looked towards him. He was even stronger and faster than Blake. Each strike staggered her, she had to twirl even faster to keep up enough speed to dodge and block. She didn't even get a chance to retaliate, he was so forceful. It also didn't help that she found it hard to control the force of her spinning, as she was always in danger of throwing herself off-balance. Meanwhile, Blake now wielded a scythe head attached to a ribbon, which she spun and fired. The scythe head was also a gun, and she used the ribbon to spin her gun and change the direction of her bullets. Lucille was kept guessing, and soon was kicked by Adam when she let down her guard. His foot smashed into her chin and he jumped and kicked her stomach, sending her slamming into the metal wall with a sickening clang. Blake charged her and Lucille blocked, but Blake had gotten in two strikes. Lucille kicked her away and panted slightly, looking at her shallow cuts. Then, Adam quickly slashed, unsheathing his sword, and Lucille dodged. However, she felt a searing pain in her back. Adam had cut deep. She staggered up and then fell, her blades deactivating. She breathed heavily and unevenly.

"What do we do with her?" Blake asked.

"Kill her."

"Adam-"

"We've got no choice," he spat, and Blake didn't reply. As Adam walked over to Lucille, she found that a strange memory resurfaced.


	3. Unbroken Bonds

It wasn't a memory of training, or of how to survive. It was a memory of something recent. Of Schnee castle. Lucille clung to it as Adam strode towards her. She tried to remember, in her delirium, what was so important. The loss of blood made her dizzy and confused. She only remembered ice and fire. A blazing courtyard, a kind face. She didn't remember until Adam was next to her, raising his blade.

"Don't die for me." Lucille snarled and kicked Adam's feet from under him. She then jumped up and changed to her guns.

"Red!" She growled. The gem shone red and she fired in rapid blasts at impossible speeds.

"Dammit!" Adam snarled. He blocked the shots, and Blake did so as well. However, one got through. Blake grunted as a bullet pierced her shoulder. Her arm went limp and she was left only with her katana to block. Adam ran next to her and swung his blade even faster, blocking in tandem with Blake.

"Black!" Lucille shouted, and then a smoke bomb exploded, having been shot from the barrel. The dark powder made Adam and Blake cough, and they huddled together, their backs pressed against each other. Lucille switched to her blades and charged at Adam. She memorized where he was and knew where to attack, while he was defenseless and disoriented. At least, she thought he was. He knew she'd attack and he swung his blade. It cut through her mid-lunge, and she tumbled across the ground. He swung his sword and the powder cleared, knocked away by the force of his swing. Blake coughed and looked at the wounded mercenary, looking proud even when defeated. She considered stopping Adam as he walked towards her. She considered saving the mercenary. But she didn't. She had no idea why, but she didn't do anything as Adam slammed his blade through Lucille's head and then ripped it out, swiping his blade to get off the blood. However, as he walked to Blake, he grunted. He'd been cut.

* * *

Blake looked at the moon. A bandage was wrapped around her arm, and she was standing on a rock. Red leaves fluttered in the wind, and trees swayed gently. Behind her, Adam sulked in the cover of darkness.

"Why did you kill her?" Blake asked.

"I had no choice."

"You had a choice, and you chose to kill. You're not like that." Adam snarled.

"There you go again, idealizing me, making me into some kind of hero. I'm not a hero. I'm not a nice guy. I'm a killer, and so are you."

"Yes we are. But we're not murderers. At least, you didn't used to be. We killed only when we had no choice. I still do. But you…you always loved a good fight, but now you can't get into one without leaving with someone's life on your hands and their blood on your blade. I don't remember you like that. You've changed, Adam."

"People tend to do that, yeah."

"You didn't have to kill that mercenary."

"Yes I did!"

"Why?!"

"For you, Blake!" Adam shouted, angry at her for not seeing.

"What?"

"If she lived, she'd have told the Schnee family about you, and then everyone would know you helped me. They'd come after you. You'd never be able to live a life out of the White Fang's shadow."

"I don't want to. I signed up for this, and I'll see it through till the end."

"No, you didn't. You were born into this. You had no choice."

"But I would have joined the White Fang even if I did. Fauna don't deserve to be treated like lesser beings. No one does." Adam cursed.

"You don't get what I'm saying, do you?! I know you're getting disillusioned with the White Fang…and with me. You have a conscience, you have morals. You've got a sense of justice, and the White Fang is losing the sense it used to have."

"What about you?"

"I've changed, Blake. That's all. I know that one day, you'll get fed up with the death and the violence. Maybe you'll leave, and maybe you won't. But if you do, I want you to live the way you want, the way you choose. I don't want you to be on the run, living in the White Fang's shadow. You deserve a life beyond this. Beyond the White Fang. Beyond me. You don't deserve to live a life haunted by your past."

"Haunted by you?" Blake spoke harshly, and Adam sighed.

"I dug my own grave, Blake, but I won't dig yours."

"I don't need you protecting me! This is my responsibility, and I'll deal with it myself!"

"Dammit, Blake! You're not going down with me!" She looked at the ground, and Adam realized he said the wrong thing.

"You intend to die?"

"No, that's not what I meant…"

"You know this can't go on forever. Are you just going to give up? Doesn't that go against everything you taught me?!"

"Yes, it does…so I'm not giving up. I'll fight till I die, just like I taught you to. I gave myself to this life, and there's no changing that. But for you…maybe it's not too late for change." With that, he decided to leave. She was stubborn, just like he was. She stuck to her beliefs, and nothing he could say would change that.

"Adam…" She muttered, wondering what he was talking about. She would take care of things herself; she didn't need his help. She relied on him too much already.

* * *

Weiss paced impatiently through the castle, building up the courage to talk to her parents. She swung Myrtenaster wildly, trying to blow off steam. It wasn't working. She had to talk to them sooner or later, and right now, she was thinking later. However, courage got the best of her after a few seconds, and she sighed before taking off to find her parents. She walked through the empty halls and looked in room after room, before finding them where she first expected but last wanted to look: the conference room.

"Mother. Father. I understand a mercenary was sent to deal with Adam of the White Fang. Where is she?" Weiss asked angrily.

"I don't appreciate that tone," her father said.

"You will treat your parents with respect, Weiss," her mother told her. Weiss swallowed her pride and apologized.

"My apologies. I'm simply eager to know of her fate."

"She's dead." Weiss choked up. They didn't prepare her for it, nor did they try to console her. They waved her out of the conference room and she walked aimlessly, not sure whether she was leaving the mansion or not. She wasn't crying, no tears fell. But she felt like she was. She felt like crying, but she wasn't. After all, how much sadness could one feel for someone she'd not even known for an hour? As Weiss was finding out, it was more than she thought. Lucille had affected her more than she expected. But that wasn't all she felt. Weiss felt guilt. Lucille had said she'd fight for her, and she did. She died for her. Weiss not only lost a friend, but she lost a friend who was fighting for her sake. She stormed to her room and picked up her cellphone.

"Hello? This is Weiss Schnee of the Schnee family. I'd like to have a plaque commissioned. I'd like it built in the courtyard of Schnee mansion."

* * *

**I'M RATHER PROUD OF THIS STORY, BUT I KNOW IT HAS FLAWS. IF ANYONE TAKES THE TIME TO READ AND REVIEW THIS, I'D LOVE TO HEAR WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY!**


End file.
